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TSgt Max Wendell Lower

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TSgt Max Wendell Lower Veteran

Birth
Twin Falls, Twin Falls County, Idaho, USA
Death
1 Aug 1943 (aged 23)
Romania
Burial
Florence, Città Metropolitana di Firenze, Toscana, Italy Add to Map
Plot
Tablets of the Missing (Recovered)
Memorial ID
View Source
Suggested edit from FAG Contributor: (48612389)
TSgt Lower will be buried Nov. 23, 2019, in his hometown.
Airman Accounted For From World War II (Lower, M.)
Release No: 19-227 Nov. 14, 2019

WASHINGTON —
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Max. W. Lower, 23, of Lewiston, Utah, killed during World War II, was accounted for Oct. 9, 2019.

In the summer of 1943, Lower was assigned to the 345th Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 aircraft on which Lower was the radio operator crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during Operation Tidal Wave, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. Following the operation, the Romanian government reported they had recovered 216 Americans killed in the raid, 27 of whom were identifiable. His remains were not among the 27. Those not identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.

Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command, the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. Each unidentified set of remains was designated Unknown and reinterred into the American Military Cemetery at Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium.

In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted for airmen from Operation Tidal Wave losses. That year, 15 sets of remains were disinterred and sent to the laboratory for analysis.

To identify Lower’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.

DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission and to the U.S. Army Regional Mortuary- Europe/Africa for their partnership in this mission.

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently there are 72,638 service members still unaccounted for from World War II, of which approximately 30,000 are assessed as possibly recoverable. Lower’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with the others missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For family information, contact the Army Service Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Lower will be buried Nov. 23, 2019, in his hometown.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420.
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Radio Op. T/Sgt Max W. Lower DFC KIA
Hometown: Lewistown, Utah
Squadron: 345th BS 98th Bomb Group
Service# 19072581
Awards: Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart
Pilot 1st/Lt. John J. Dore Jr. DFC KIA

Target; Low level mission to destroy Rumanian Oil Fields August 1 1943. Ploesti.
Missing Air Crew Report Details
USAAF MACR#:
Date Lost: 1-Aug-43
Serial Number: 42-40102
Aircraft Model B-24D
Aircraft Letter: T
Aircraft Name: OLD BALDY
Location: Lost near the target, Ploesti
Cause: AA hit point blank at 30 feet or less from a Rumanian 80 mm. Crew 10 10KIA

Sgt. Lower lost his life in action while on duty with the 98th Bomb Group for "Operation Tidal Wave " one of the most daring raids of WW2. Coming in at tree top level the crew of OLD BALDY destroy Rumanian oil refineries. Sgt. Lower was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for valor on this mission.

Sgt. Lower appears Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery Florence, Italy his remains were never recovered or identified.

Crew of OLD BALDY
1st/Lt. John J. Dore Jr. Pilot
2nd/Lt. John B. Stallings Co Pilot
1st/Lt. Worthington A Franks Navigator
1st/Lt. Joseph E. Finneran Bombardier
T/Sgt. Frank Ardith Norris Engineer
T/Sgt. Frank Ardith Norris Engineer
T/Sgt. Max W. Lower Engineer
T/Sgt. Max W. Lower Engineer
S/Sgt. Joseph Rocco Iosco Gunner
S/Sgt. Ray L. Gleason Gunner
S/Sgt. Wesley L. Jones Gunner
S/Sgt. Stanley L. Packer Gunner
Suggested edit from FAG Contributor: (48612389)
TSgt Lower will be buried Nov. 23, 2019, in his hometown.
Airman Accounted For From World War II (Lower, M.)
Release No: 19-227 Nov. 14, 2019

WASHINGTON —
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Max. W. Lower, 23, of Lewiston, Utah, killed during World War II, was accounted for Oct. 9, 2019.

In the summer of 1943, Lower was assigned to the 345th Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 aircraft on which Lower was the radio operator crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during Operation Tidal Wave, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. Following the operation, the Romanian government reported they had recovered 216 Americans killed in the raid, 27 of whom were identifiable. His remains were not among the 27. Those not identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.

Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command, the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. Each unidentified set of remains was designated Unknown and reinterred into the American Military Cemetery at Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium.

In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted for airmen from Operation Tidal Wave losses. That year, 15 sets of remains were disinterred and sent to the laboratory for analysis.

To identify Lower’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.

DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission and to the U.S. Army Regional Mortuary- Europe/Africa for their partnership in this mission.

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently there are 72,638 service members still unaccounted for from World War II, of which approximately 30,000 are assessed as possibly recoverable. Lower’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with the others missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For family information, contact the Army Service Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Lower will be buried Nov. 23, 2019, in his hometown.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Radio Op. T/Sgt Max W. Lower DFC KIA
Hometown: Lewistown, Utah
Squadron: 345th BS 98th Bomb Group
Service# 19072581
Awards: Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart
Pilot 1st/Lt. John J. Dore Jr. DFC KIA

Target; Low level mission to destroy Rumanian Oil Fields August 1 1943. Ploesti.
Missing Air Crew Report Details
USAAF MACR#:
Date Lost: 1-Aug-43
Serial Number: 42-40102
Aircraft Model B-24D
Aircraft Letter: T
Aircraft Name: OLD BALDY
Location: Lost near the target, Ploesti
Cause: AA hit point blank at 30 feet or less from a Rumanian 80 mm. Crew 10 10KIA

Sgt. Lower lost his life in action while on duty with the 98th Bomb Group for "Operation Tidal Wave " one of the most daring raids of WW2. Coming in at tree top level the crew of OLD BALDY destroy Rumanian oil refineries. Sgt. Lower was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for valor on this mission.

Sgt. Lower appears Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery Florence, Italy his remains were never recovered or identified.

Crew of OLD BALDY
1st/Lt. John J. Dore Jr. Pilot
2nd/Lt. John B. Stallings Co Pilot
1st/Lt. Worthington A Franks Navigator
1st/Lt. Joseph E. Finneran Bombardier
T/Sgt. Frank Ardith Norris Engineer
T/Sgt. Frank Ardith Norris Engineer
T/Sgt. Max W. Lower Engineer
T/Sgt. Max W. Lower Engineer
S/Sgt. Joseph Rocco Iosco Gunner
S/Sgt. Ray L. Gleason Gunner
S/Sgt. Wesley L. Jones Gunner
S/Sgt. Stanley L. Packer Gunner

Gravesite Details

Entered the service from Utah.



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  • Maintained by: John Dowdy
  • Originally Created by: War Graves
  • Added: Aug 7, 2010
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56365020/max_wendell-lower: accessed ), memorial page for TSgt Max Wendell Lower (3 Mar 1920–1 Aug 1943), Find a Grave Memorial ID 56365020, citing Florence American Cemetery and Memorial, Florence, Città Metropolitana di Firenze, Toscana, Italy; Maintained by John Dowdy (contributor 47791572).